Today we are back with the Virtual Book Club for Kids to celebrate Eric Carle Month! I've got some fun and easy The Very Hungry Caterpillar Activities for you today! As a bonus I got to check out one of the official Eric Carle Apps and I have a giveaway for you at the bottom! I've got a couple affiliate links in this post in case you want to make the craft as well.

I have to say that The Very Hungry Caterpillar is quite possibly the most-read book in our house since my daughter was born almost five years ago! I remember reading it to her even before I thought she could understand it and she always loved the high contrast images.

When the kids were infants, I'd just let them examine each page as long as they were interested before going onto the next. As they started to comprehend more, I'd point to the pictures as I read the corresponding words, then we got to the point where they wanted to reach out and touch the holes. So fun! Now we are at a point where they can recite the words and enjoy pretend play and reenacting books so I thought this activity would be a big hit- and it was!

This was super simple to set up and both my toddler and preschooler enjoyed playing with it. We found several ways to use our caterpillar too! See below for the simple tutorial, ways to play, other Eric Carle Book Activities AND a sneak peak of the cool new app! Don't forget to enter to win below as well! Phew! Lots to see in this post!! Let's get rolling!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Activities

MaterialsExtra Wide Milkshake Straws Scissors Tiny adhesive googly eyes (ours were sent to us by Creatify) Pony Beads Hot Glue Gun or glue stick InstructionsPrep the head. Cut off a segment of red straw that is about 3/4 inch long. Snip out two triangles from one end to give him a mouth. Add two googly eyes. Connect the body. In the picture above I snipped a cut into the green segment and then jammed the green straw into the head. This resulted in a small bit of green straw getting in the way of the beads so in hindsight I'd snip a small slit at the back bottom of the red segment and slide the red segment over the green segment instead. Next you can trim the body to the length you desire (long enough for 15 beads to fit into if you are reading along with the story). I also stapled the tail end of the green straw shut but you could also have your child focus on pinching it shut to keep the beads from spilling. Up to you!

Ways to Play

You could use this little guy to work on several tasks, subjects or situations!

-Story Retelling – Use it right along with the story and have your child feed the caterpillar along with the story.

-Color Practice – Work on color recognition by matching the beads to the foods in the book and then feeding them to the caterpillar.

-Counting – Learn to count by feeding the caterpillar the right number of beads. (My toddler noticed that the pony beads fit just right into the holes of the fruit, so that would help reinforce one to one correspondence.

-Fill and Spill – Even without the book my son loved adding the beads to the straws and tipping them back out into the dish.

-Take a Turn – If you are working on sharing in your house, you can use this game as a chance to model good turn-taking by alternating who gets to feed the caterpillar.

-Pretend Play – My preschooler loved giving the Very Hungry Caterpillar a voice and personality. We played together making sure he ate all kinds of great food. She likes to play a game that I call Attributes. This is where we use any pretend play characters and take turns asking for something by talking about its attributes. Me: What kind of fruit do you want today Mr. Caterpillar? Her: Hmm I want a fruit that is small and red and has tiny seeds on the outside. Me: Oh then you'll love this strawberry. (And then we switch roles.)

How would you play with this fun Very Hungry Caterpillar playset?

Virtual Book Club for Kids

Head over to the other Virtual Book Club for Kids bloggers to see their Eric Carle Crafts and Activities!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar & Friends Apps

We had the great pleasure of working with the World of Eric Carle to preview the beautiful Play & Explore App from The Very Hungry Caterpillar & Friends. It's got all the vivid, gorgeous pictures you'd expect from Eric Carle and lots of fun and learning built right in too! I checked it out with my toddler and right away he saw it and said “Ooo I WUV the vewy hungwy aaapillar!” We had fun doing puzzles, playing games and learning about various insects and animals! You can check the app out in the app store and stick around for your chance to win it!

Click the app button below to head to the app store (it will take you to the right app store for your device). iOS Users can also head below to the rafflecopter to enter to win one of three free app codes! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Please note that while I was compensated for this post and received the app for free to review, all opinions are mine!